NATIONAL BRIEFING | NEW ENGLAND; Rhode Island: New Settlement In Nightclub Fire

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: May 24, 2008

Anheuser-Busch and a Cranston beer distributor have agreed to pay $21 million to settle lawsuits brought by survivors of a 2003 nightclub fire and relatives of the 100 people killed, according to court papers. The February 2003 fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick began when pyrotechnics used by the rock band Great White ignited flammable soundproofing foam. More than 200 people were injured. Anheuser-Busch, the latest big-name defendant to settle the case, and its Cranston-based distributor, McLaughlin & Moran, did not admit wrongdoing. The latest agreements with plaintiffs' lawyers mean that more than $122 million has been offered by more than a dozen defendants, including Home Depot, which sold insulation used in the club, and Clear Channel Broadcasting, whose local rock radio station promoted the concert.